Product description

Every good knitting project begins with great yarn. In the quest for one-of-a-kind fibres, many knitters and weavers have discovered the deep satisfaction of spinning one's own. An art in itself, spinning requires an array of basic technical skills and decisions to produce a particular style of yarn. While knitters have long had stitch dictionaries to guide their hands, no similar resource has existed for spinners. Until now. `The Spinner's Book of Yarn Designs` is a step-by-step guide to creating 70 distinctive yarns, from classics such as mohair boucle to novelty features like supercoils. Lush, full-colour photographs illustrate the process of turning fleece into yarn, reveal the architecture of each yarn, and demonstrate exactly how to manipulate and combine the fibres to achieve the desired result. Images of knitted and woven pieces reveal how the spun yarn looks in a variety of projects.

Customer reviews

i think this is an excellent book... very clearly presented, takes you right through from fibre preparation, planning the yarn, to spinning a yarn that is well suited for the purpose. heaps of colour photos, close up pictures of yarn and components, and step by step instructions for making each of the many yarns. i can see it will be a valuable addition to my library and help me improve my spinning, and my creativity- no excuse for making another boring 2-ply yarn!

Review quote

This inspired resource for spinners details the dizzying array of techniques and tactics that turn fleece into yarn. Veteran spinner Anderson has created a veritable spinner s cookbook, detailing 80 lovely concoctions and confections, with suggestions for variations and further exploration. The opening chapter covers basic fiber preparation and spinning techniques. Chapters on singles, the spinner s basic building block, detail techniques for stand-alone singles and singles for plying; subsequent chapters cover spiral yarns, opposing plies, boucles, cable, crepe, coil, and novelty yarns. Delicious varieties such as spiral flame yarn, bubble crepe, cloud yarn, and distinctive pigtail yarn are detailed. Beautiful illustrations and clear step-by-step diagrams are offered for each of the 80 yarns that are discussed, and pop-out boxes with tips, tricks, and food for thought (for example, lace knitting: two-ply versus three-ply ) pepper each chapter. The pages have thoughtful side tab labels to make finding the right section easy. Inventive, accessible, and fun, this book is an invitation to spinners of all skill levels to venture into uncharted territory and try out something new. This beautiful reference is an essential addition to any spinner s library."

Back cover copy

Expand Your Spinning Repertoire! Explore the exciting possibilities in wool and wheel with Sarah Anderson as she invites you into her yarn library and demonstrates how to spin everything from classic fat and fine singles to dozens of boucle variations and one-of-a-kind novelty yarns. Featuring step-by-step instructions on making 80 distinctive yarns, this is the primer every spinner needs to begin building a unique collection of luxious yarns. 64 unique reference cards appear throughout to illustrate step-by-step the singles and twist combinations that comprise each yarn. A second set of the cards, in a handy take-along format, is packaging in a separate envelope at the back of the book.